Library seen as key to future of tourism

Officials want the Clinton Library to be an anchor for tourism.
LITTLE ROCK (AP) -- With the dedication of the Clinton Presidential Library taking place this week, officials have wrapped up plans for a huge celebration. But they want the festivities to leave the city with lasting benefits rather than a hangover.
The library is the key piece in anchoring what officials hope will be a larger tourist industry in Central Arkansas.
Clinton Library foundation president Skip Rutherford said the center anticipates having 300,000 visitors in 2005 and he predicts those guests will lead to more people making trips to the city.
The city of Hot Springs, about an hour away, aggressively touts its ties to Clinton and, with its sprawling convention center, draws plenty of visitors on its own.
Opening festivities for the library take place today to Thursday; it will be open to the public beginning Friday.
The schedule is still being filled in for the many events that will surround Clinton's dedicating his $165 million library complex, which will include a public policy school.
The city is planning to hold an extended block party in its downtown River Market District, with large screens carrying the dedication for overflow crowds.
Events ranging from special museum exhibits to a 3.1-mile foot race to an Aretha Franklin concert will support the main event.
Starting-off point
City officials for years have said they want the library to be a long-term anchor for tourism.
When Clinton chose the site east of downtown Little Rock -- bypassing Fayetteville and Hot Springs -- development began to blossom in long-vacant warehouses and other properties. What 10 years ago was a largely stagnant downtown has been transformed.
The city is already looking years down the road.
"What we see as happening here is a mix of eclectic offerings," Little Rock Mayor Jim Dailey said.
Dailey quickly ran through the numerous attractions visitors will find once they visit the library -- restaurants, museums, nightspots, a 14-mile foot- and bicycle-loop trail that will include a bridge at the library property and more.
"This area is stepping up to a new level," Dailey said. "I think the offerings are pretty broad and diverse."
Dailey said that when he speaks to groups considering booking conventions in Little Rock, they all want information about what's going on at the Clinton Library.
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